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Snorkel Fire Equipment Company
The Snorkel Fire Equipment Company was established as a subsidiary of the Pitman Manufacturing Company to build fire service versions of Pitman's aerial platforms. The company exited the fire service market in 1998. Today as Snorkel International, the company manufactures aerial work platforms and work lifts for the construction and industrial markets. Snorkel's three best known fire service products, the Snorkel, Squrt and Tele-Squrt are currently available through Smeal subsidiary LTC. History The Pitman Manufacturing Company was founded in 1950 to build hydraulic lift equipment. In 1958 the Chicago Fire Department trialed a new aerial platform based on one of Pitman's articulating boom platforms. Almost immediately this new device gained the nickname "snorkel" and Pitman began to receive orders from other fire departments. In order to fulfill the growing demand, Pitman established a new division the Snorkel Fire Equipment Company with its own plant in Grandview, Missouri. In 1960 Crown Fire Coach became the west coast distributor of Snorkel using many on its Fire Coach Chassis. Snorkel would also work closely with Pierce Manufacturing. Pierce had been used to build the first snorkel equipped fire apparatus, and continued to receive orders from Snorkel through 1964. By the mid 1960s direct sales of snorkel equipment had increased to the point that the company was no longer involved in the sale of complete fire apparatus. In 1963 the Snorkel Fire Equipment Company was sold to Pitman co-founder Art Moore and production moved to St Joseph, Missouri. In 1968 the company introduced a new product, the Squrt. This was a lightweight articulating boom. Instead of a platform, the Squrt had a remote controlled master stream nozzle at the tip. In 1969 King-Seagrave Ltd. became Snorkel's Canadian distributor. In 1972 Snorkel introduced a new lightweight telescoping ladder with a remotely operated master stream nozzle at the tip. This would be named the Tele-Squrt and would become the company's best selling product. In 1973 the A-T-O Corporation acquired Snorkel with Art Moore remaining as president until his retirement in 1991. A-T-O was at that time the parent company of American LaFrance. Despite the shared parent, Snorkel remained independent continuing to offer its products to all interested builders. Soon after this acquisition American LaFrance ceased manufacture of its own proprietary articulating boom and began using Snorkel products. In the late 1970s Snorkel began to diversify adding aerial platforms intended for the industrial and construction markets. In 1995 Snorkel and American LaFrance would be separated, the Snorkel Fire Equipment Company was sold to OmniQuip and American LaFrance became a subsidiary of the Freightliner Corporation. In 1998 American LaFrance purchased the fire service division of Snorkel bringing the two back together. The Snorkel line would be absorbed into American LaFrance's Aerials Division in 2008 along with aerial ladder builders LTI and Aerial Innovations. In 2014 American LaFrance went out of business. The Smeal Fire Apparatus Company purchased American LaFrance's Aerials Division and now offers the Snorkel, Squrt and TeleSqurt through their subsidiary Ladder Towers Company (LTC). Products :Snorkel An articulating boom with a semi-enclosed platform on the end. The platform is provided with one or more master stream nozzles. :Squrt An articulating boom with a remotely operated master stream nozzle at the tip. :Tele-Squrt A telescoping boom with a lightweight ladder. A remotely operated master stream nozzle is mounted at the tip. Sources :* Barrett, Paul R. Elevating Platforms. Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2006. :* McCall, Walter M.P. Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Fire Engine Manufacturers. Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2007. :* McCall, Walter M.P. The Evolution of Aerial Fire Apparatus. Hudson, WI: Iconografix, 2009. :* Moore, Arthur My Story. United States: Snorkel, 2016. :* Company promotional literature and advertising Category:Apparatus Component Manufacturers